Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe

The South Lake Tahoe Housing Market Keeps Improving!

As of May 25th, there are currently 483 single family homes listed on the South Lake mls, and 95 of them are now in escrow. Now that 20% of our current single family inventory is in escrow, the South Lake Tahoe real Estate market is continuing to show improvements in buyer activity.

There has been a decrease of foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that have been coming onto the market, andbuyers are now making offers short sales and the existing re-sale inventory. There are now 22 single family foreclosure listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and all but 2 are in escrow. Another reason for buyers now buying the non-foreclosure inventory is to avoid competition from other buyers. Many of the recent new foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe have had multiple buyers writing offers on them. Buyers who are not writing full list price offers, or close to list price offers on the foreclosure listings are missing out on the deals.

Out of the 95 single family homes that are in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe mls, 33 are short sales and 20 are bank owned foreclosures.

Statistics for the 95 pending single family homes in South Lake Tahoe

The average listing price for the South Lake Tahoe homes in escrow is $418,608
The median listing price is $359,900
The average listing price per square foot is $244
The average square footage is 1,757
The median days on the market was 141

Statistics for the 33 short sales in South Lake Tahoe currently in escrow

The average listing price for the short sales in escrow is $432,248
The median listing price is $375,000
The average listing price per square foot is $244
The average square footage is 1,812
The median days on the market was 195

Statistics for the 20 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe currently in escrow

The average listing price for the bank owned foreclosures is $292,352
The median listing price is $267,500
The average listing price per square foot is $188
The average square footage is 1,658
The median days on the market was 68

Single family homes in escrow by South Lake Tahoe mls areas

Al Tahoe has 4 homes in escrow
Bijou has 10 homes in escrow
Black Bart has 1 home in escrow
Christmas Valley has 4 homes in escrow
Echo View Estates has 1 home in escrow
Elks Club has 8 homes in escrow
Gardner Mountain has 2 homes in escrow
Heavenly Valley has 2 homes in escrow
Highland Woods has 2 homes in escrow
Meyers has 3 homes in escrow
Montgomery Estates has 9 homes in escrow
North Upper Truckee has 8 homes in escrow
Pioneer Trail has 7 homes in escrow
Pioneer Village has 1 home in escrow
Sierra Tract has 7 homes in escrow
Tahoe Island Drive has 4 homes in escrow
Tahoe Island Park has 5 homes in escrow
Tahoe Keys has 9 homes in escrow
Tahoe Paradise has 4 homes in escrow
The Y Area has 4 homes in escrow

With the percentage of housing inventory that is in escrow increasing monthly, the South Lake Tahoe real estate market seems to be heading in the right direction. With more home buyers entering the market daily, the selection of available distress sales is on the decline. Could the bottom of the housing market bubble have passed? Only Time will tell. For more information about the South Lake Tahoe real estate market, call Brent and Jill Johnson.

South Lake Tahoe Home Sales and The $8,000 Tax Credit

South Lake Tahoe real estate first time home buyers now have an extra incentive and some help with their down payment. According to Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.

Secretary Donovan said that important changes, which the National Association of Realtors has been calling for, will help consumers purchase a home. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a down payment,” Donovan said. According to Donovan , the FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

Donovan also goes on to say that the housing market appears to be stabilizing and that the rapid decline in home prices starting to abate.

This information was provided by the National Association of Realtors.

Enabling first time home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as part of the down payment on FHA loans should bring more buyers into the market. I would also agree with Donovan in that the real estate market is stabilizing. There are currently 82 houses in South Lake Tahoe that are in escrow out of 469. With 17% of our current housing inventory is in escrow, this is the highest percentage that it has been all year. There are also 27 foreclosure listings in South lake Tahoe, and 19 of them are in escrow. We are once again seeing multiple offer situations on foreclosures and short sales.

For more information regarding South Lake Tahoe real estate, foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, and the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit, call Brent Johnson today!

Bank Owned Properties in South Lake Tahoe

A new foreclosure listing in South Lake Tahoe has just been added to the mls. If this home interests you at all, call Brent or Jill as soon as possible. I expect this new listing to sell very quickly!

806 Stanford Ave. Offered at $295,000

806 Stanfordis a bank owned foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe located in the Al Tahoe area. This 3 bedroom , 2 bath, 2 car garage 1300 square foot home has been remodeled on the inside and has a newer roof. Pine accents, a river rock fireplace, and wide plank laminate flooring give this home a warm “Tahoe Feel.” Skylights throughout brighten this open floor-plan. The bathrooms are clean but have not been updated. There is a missing stove, refrigerator, and a few minor repairs needed. The last sale of this home took place on 5/24/07 when it sold for $493,000.

Energy Star rated natural gas forced air furnace
River rock gas fireplace
Log accents
Flat fenced lot
Open floor plan
Great Al Tahoe location!

There are only 7 foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe out of 27 that are not currently in escrow. If you would like to take a look at this bank owned home, please call Brent and Jill Johnson at (530) 416-2625.

If you have any questions regarding foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe real estate, or South Lake Tahoe mls listings, contact us today!

Short Sale Sellers Beware!

According to the National Association of Realtors, an increasing number of lenders are going after borrowers who sell their homes for less than they owe – known as a short sale – in order to recover more of the difference between the amount owed and the sale price.

In order for short sale sellers to protect themselves from lenders trying to recover lost money in the future, it is essential to have a note satisfaction and/or lien release and verbiage that the loan amount is paid in full. This release should be in the short sale approval letter. If there is no such verbiage in the approval letter, it should be requested. If there is more than one loan on the property, there should be a satisfaction and/or lien release from all lenders involved.

Short sales are not for everyone. Lenders say the factors that they consider when they decide to seek more money are:

How large was the unpaid debt? Lenders are more likely to go after a large loss than to bother with a small one.
Was the property an investment or a personal residence? Lenders have less tolerance for short sale sellers of investment properties. They are more likely to forgive a primary residence short sale seller.

How much money does the borrower make and what other assets does he have? If the short sale seller has other assets to go after, the lender will be more inclined to make an effort to recover their lost money. This also brings up the question if the seller could have some how made the payments, or just sold as a short sale to cut their losses?
What is the policy of the mortgage insurer or the holder of the second lien? When there is a second lien involved, the second lien holder usually will only get pennies on the dollar and will take a big loss in a short sale.

A PMI Group Inc. spokesman says the mortgage insurer “primarily target[s] borrowers who are not experiencing hardship – but those who simply elected to walk away from the property due to its decline in value.”

If you are considering selling your home as a short sale in South Lake Tahoe make sure to speak with your accountant first. For more information regarding short sales in South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe real estate, or foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, give Brent and Jill Johnson a call today!

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (04/30/2009)

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure and Short Sale Listings Search on my Website!!!

There is a new search option now available on my website that enables you to search for foreclosures and short sale listings on the South Lake Tahoe MLS! This new search tool will enable buyers to search only for foreclosures and short sales. If you would like to sign up for new listing notifications just click on the link and create a new user. The South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure listing search and the South Lake Tahoe short sale listing search option will look just like this:

Including the above criteria, only show me properties that:

are Short Sales

are REO / Bank Owned (Foreclosures)

Be aware that if you check the boxes for either foreclosure or short sale listings, you will only receive new foreclosure listings and short sale listings. If you would like to receive all listings including foreclosure and short sale listings, you can either leave the boxes un-checked, or you can set up two separate searches. If you are already signed up for new listing notification, you can still log into your account and create another home search for foreclosures and short sales only.

With 25 foreclosure listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls and all but 4 in escrow, buyers are finding in important to act quickly when a foreclosure comes onto the market. This new foreclosure and short sale listing search tool on my website will enable you to act quicker and get a good buy on a foreclosure or short sale listing.

If you have any trouble with the new short sale and foreclosure search tool please call Brent Johnson at (530) 416-2625. I hope that you take advantage of this great new feature on my website!

South Lake Tahoe MLS Listings from $400,000 to $500,000

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is very active in the lower price ranges, and is now picking up above $500,000. The $400,000 to $500,000 range is still one of the areas that is still seeing a limited amount of buyer activity.

Currently there are 463 single family home listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls. Out of the 463 listings, 72 are in escrow which is about 16%. There are 61 homes listed between $400,000 and $500,000. and 6 of them are in escrow which is only about 10%.

For the homes listed between $400,000 and $500,000, the average listing price per square foot is $275. So far this year there have been 16 houses that have sold in this price range on the South Lake Tahoe mls. The average price per square foot for the sold homes was $238. The median selling price was $427,000 and the average selling price was $436,250. There were only 4 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that have sold in the $400,000 to $500,000 price range. With only 4 of the 37 South Lake Tahoe foreclosures that have sold so far this year being in the $400,000 to $500,000 price range, this range has a low percentage of the foreclosure market.

I have chosen 4 homes on the South Lake Tahoe mls between $400,000 and $500,000 that I think have a good value.

1802 Amador is a short sale listing in Montgomery Estates offered at $429,000 which comes to $175.25 per square foot. This home was previously sold for $670,000 on 6/23/05. Montgomery Estates is one of my favorite areas because it is close to Heavenly Valley Ski Resort and not far from Stateline and the Casinos. There are a lot of larger and newer homes in this area. 1802 Amador is a 2448 square foot 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2 car garage home with upgrades and is in good condition.

3503 April is not a short sale or a bank owned foreclosure, but has an outstanding location near Heavenly Valley. This home also backs to U.S. Forest Service Land. This 2146 square foot 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage would make a great vacation home or a vacation rental. Offered at $495,000, this home is has a list price per square foot of $230.66

1542 Ormsby is a bank owned foreclosure listing with a great meadow view location. This bank owned listing is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1 car garage, 2323 square foot home priced at $419,000. At only $180.37 per square foot, this meadow and mountain view home has great potential to be upgraded.

709 Gardner is a newer (1999 construction) 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage home that has been rarely been used and is in great condition. This newer home is priced at $429,000 and is $210.09 per square foot.

For buyers in the $400,000 to $500,000 price range, there is a great selection of listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls. With not a lot of competition in this price range, buyers will have a chance to negotiate a good price on a home that works for them. Make sure to keep checking on my current list of foreclosures in South Lake Tahoeto see any new foreclosure listings on the South lake Tahoe mls.

If you would like to find out more about the South Lake Tahoe real estate market, foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, the South Lake Tahoe mls, or would like to set up an appointment to view properties in South Lake Tahoe, contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!